San Diego
Historical exhibits and listening stations of 450 instruments from the 1890s to the present, from manufacturing to the distribution of popular music.
Must-see attractions in Southern California
Greater Palm Springs
This museum showcases the history and culture of the Agua Caliente band of Cahuilla people through permanent and changing exhibits and special events.
Huntington Beach
On 18 acres, away from the beach, this nature center offers kid-friendly exhibits on conservation efforts and a self-guided wetlands nature trail.
Santa Barbara County
Rotating painting and photography exhibitions, often with a local theme, take place in this gleaming white building in the center of town.
Los Angeles
This stately garden in front of the California Science Center opened to the public in 1928 and today displays 145 varieties of plants.
Santa Barbara Wine Country
Exhibits and friendly volunteers help residents and visitors learn more about the local area and Santa Barbara County in general.
Disneyland Resort
Just outside Tomorrowland station, kiddies will want to shoot laser beams at the evil emperor Zurg in this shooting gallery ride.
Downtown Los Angeles & Boyle Heights
The city’s oldest fire station (1884) is now a one-room museum filled with dusty old fire-fighting equipment and photographs.
Disneyland Resort
A pod of jellyfish bob up and down on 40ft stalks of 'kelp' and parachute down. It's tame enough for even preschoolers.
Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Brentwood & Westwood
Designed by Richard Meier, the Broad Art Center houses the UCLA visual-arts programs and an MFA student gallery.
Newport Beach
This calm beach, known as Mothers Beach for its kid-friendly currents, has a lifeguard, restrooms and a shower.
San Diego
A 60ft tall wooden-trestle pedestrian bridge built in the early 20th century. It runs across a steep valley.
Pasadena & the San Gabriel Valley
Gallery on the Art Center College of Design campus.
Disneyland Resort
Take a slow boat on the Rivers of America in this replica of an 18th-century sailing ship.
Orange County
This attractively landscaped traffic circle forms the crossroads of Old Towne Orange.
Disneyland Resort
Kid-friendly retro 'spaceships' take off, spinning around a central column.
Disneyland Resort
The little ones love climbing the stairways of this 80ft-tall treehouse.
Coronado Museum of History and Art
San Diego
Exhibits on local history and art and a huge archive of 20,000 photos.
San Diego
Opened in San Diego in 1964, SeaWorld became one of California’s most popular theme parks. Visitors shuttle between aquatic-themed rides, animal…
San Diego
The Hillcrest sign was first hung in 1940; a newer version was erected in 1984.
The Deserts
The pile of rocks is actually a monument to Thomas 'Peg Leg’ Smith – one-legged mountain man, fur trapper, horse thief, con artist and Wild West legend…
Venice, Marina Del Rey & Playa del Rey
Most boats, including party fishing boats and winter whale-watching boats, leave from this kitschy strip of candy-colored cottages filled with tacky gift…
Los Angeles
The Dunbar was a luxury hotel built in 1928 in this predominantly African-American neighborhood, at a time when segregation barred African-Americans from…
Long Beach & San Pedro
Shrieking gulls and excited children animate this aging shopping district filled with trinket stores (which you can safely skip) en route to copious meals…
The Deserts
Pay your respects to early desert adventurers at the old Stone Hotel. Built in 1875 of adobe and stone, it once housed miners, desert explorers and…
Greater Palm Springs
Rat Packers should make the pilgrimage to Desert Memorial Park to pay their final respects to Frank Sinatra who died in 1998 at age 82. He was buried in…
Pasadena & the San Gabriel Valley
The theater where Mia and Seb went to the movies in La La Land has been closed since 2007 (talk about movie magic!), but locals remain nostalgic for this…
Santa Barbara
Descend the cliffs on a historic staircase (don’t worry, there aren’t actually a thousand steps) for some windy beachcombing and tide-pooling (only at low…
The Deserts
Despite the name, this low-budget museum is not so much about the famous teams of mules that transported borax from Death Valley to Mojave in the 1880s…
Santa Barbara County
By the Vandenberg Air Force Base, Surf Beach is, as its name suggests, popular with surfers, though fatal shark attacks in recent years mean you should be…
Los Angeles to Barstow
Cruising through Fontana, birthplace of the Hells Angels biker club, pause for a photo by the Giant Orange, a now-boarded-up 1930s orange-shaped juice…
Hollywood
The last remaining Victorian home on Hollywood Blvd, built in 1903, and the former site of Miss Janes’ School, which was attended by the children of old…
The Deserts
Back in the day when the Butterfield Overland stage coach had a hard time making it across this pass, passengers had to temporarily get off and walk –…
La Jolla
Commissioned by Ellen Browning Scripps and designed by famous San Diego architect Irving Gill, this notable building dates to 1915. The center has…
San Diego
Save Starlight (www.savestarlight.org) is an initiative working to restore, revive and revitalize Starlight Bowl. The movement hopes to put on concerts,…
La Jolla
Although not open to the public, campus buildings (visible from the street) date back to 1898 and are a good example of early architecture in the area. If…
San Diego
Just north of Old Town, this house dates from about 1820 and is said to be the oldest house in San Diego. It is now the pro shop for the public 18-hole…
Disneyland Resort
As corny as it sounds, entering the main gate and seeing Walt's words 'Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy’ on the…
Death Valley National Park
Just east of Stovepipe Wells Village, Hwy 190 passes through this plain that is not studded with corn but with clumps of arrow weed, an evergreen used by…
